Florida fumbled early and often, botched several snaps, muffed two exchanges, shanked a punt, missed a field goal and an extra point, and watched way too many plays go nowhere. The Gators pulled away down the stretch thanks to two late touchdowns, including a fluky score in the closing minutes, but the 34-12 victory left plenty of cause for concern.

"We've got a long way to go," Meyer said.

The Gators get a chance to correct the problems Saturday against South Florida (1-0). In the meantime, they expect to spend extra time on ball security.

They fumbled on their first three possessions. Mike Pouncey zipped a snap past John Brantley, Chris Rainey coughed the ball up following a short reception and Emmanuel Moody bobbled a pitch on fourth down. Those were just the beginning of Florida's miscues.

Pouncey rolled two shotgun snaps to Brantley and delivered a few more offline.

"We couldn't get nothing going," Pouncey said. "It's part my fault we couldn't get the offense going with the snaps. I pride myself on being great, and that just killed me. I didn't play great."

Things would have been even worse had the Gators not converted three times on fourth down.

"I'm just happy to get that first game out of the way," said Brantley, who spent three years playing behind Tebow and waiting for his first start. "First-game jitters and new offense. I think we'll definitely build off this game and get a lot better."

Florida had negative yardage in the first quarter, 13 yards at halftime and a measly 25 yards entering the fourth. Nonetheless, they led 21-12 because of Miami's miscues. The RedHawks had three interceptions, a failed fake punt and some costly penalties.

Janoris Jenkins returned one interception 67 yards for a touchdown. Ahmad Black gave Florida first-and-goal at the 2-yard line with another. The RedHawks also misfired on a fourth-down pass at their own 21, and settled for three short field goals.

Florida had 28 yards when Jeff Demps took a handoff and sprinted untouched for a 72-yard score early in the fourth, about the time the RedHawks looked exhausted from the sweltering heat and humidity. Brantley tacked on his longest pass of the day with a little more than a minute remaining.

On fourth-and-21 from the Miami 25, Brantley rolled right under pressure and threw a ball up for grabs in the end zone. Hines jumped between two defenders and tipped the ball, which landed in Rainey's arms for a score.

"I was just throwing it up to see if anything good could happen, and it did," Brantley said. "It wasn't our day, but we did a lot of great things out there. We'll learn from our mistakes, just like any other team would."

But the focus was on the offensive woes. The Gators managed 12 first downs and finished with 212 yards -- the second-worst total in Meyer's six seasons.

"It was not that shocking that we didn't play well," Meyer said. "It was shocking the ball's on the ground. ... There's a sense of urgency. I felt it in the locker room. There should be. We'll come back and work hard. That's what we do around here: Work hard and try to get better."

Kelly savors 1st win, Michigan up next for Irish

Brian Kelly relaxed after his first victory at Notre Dame as only a coach can. He tuned in to some more football, catching the second half of a game involving the school he led to an unbeaten record last season.

After a long day of football and ceremony in which he helped sing the fight song in the locker room following Notre Dame's 23-12 win over Purdue on Saturday, Kelly says he watched the second half of Cincinnati's game against Fresno State.

What he'll be looking at this week is how to handle an improved Michigan team that beat Connecticut in its opener and will present a formidable challenge for an Irish defense that made a solid showing against the Boilermakers.

After shocking loss, Mississippi tries to regroup

For the most part, things have gone quite well for Mississippi's football program since coach Houston Nutt arrived on campus in November of 2007.

There have been two top-25 finishes. Two Cotton Bowl victories. And two successful seasons to heal the wounds from the three disastrous Ed Orgeron years.

But the Nutt era suffered its first true black eye on Saturday, when the Rebels inexplicably lost to Jacksonville State 49-48 in double overtime. It was the first time Ole Miss lost to a Football Championship Subdivision team in school history.

Nutt, like his players, appeared stunned.

"It was quiet -- nothing was being said," Nutt said. "It was a disappointed locker room and it should be. It was sad."

Nutt called it his worst loss ever as a coach. Now, with 11 games left, his charge is to make sure it doesn't define the season.

Although just about every facet of the Ole Miss football team had issues in the loss, the defensive collapse was most stunning. Ole Miss led 31-13 midway through the third quarter, but then Jacksonville State scored on its final six possessions, including touchdowns on the final five.

"I give all the credit to Jacksonville State for never giving up, but we played embarrassingly," linebacker D.T. Shackelford said. "That's not up to our standards at all."

Mississippi defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix was given a three-year contract worth $500,000 per year in the offseason after his defense ranked among the top half of the Southeastern Conference in most major categories last season.

The Rebels were also hurt by three turnovers. One of them -- a fumble by quarterback Nathan Stanley -- led directly to a Jacksonville State touchdown. The Gamecocks had no turnovers.

Mississippi plays at Tulane on Saturday. It's the first time the two teams will face off since 2000, when the Rebels won 49-20 in Oxford.

"I told them that this is when we find out what everybody is about," Nutt said. "... There will be people on the outside trying to turn you into a locker room lawyer, but don't listen to them. Come back and just work."